Tried and Tested – Low Calorie Ice Creams

If you’re watching your weight or need to reduce your sugar intake, it can be hard abstaining from ice cream teats while others aren’t. Thankfully there are lots of new products that claim to taste just as great – without the calories. We find out which live up to their promise

Best chocolate

Breyers Delights Creamy Chocolate, 500ml, £2.50, most supermarkets

The high-protein, lower-sugar and fresh-cream recipe contains 38 to 57 per cent less
calories and 45 to 60 per cent less sugar per 100g than normal ice cream products. And wow, the taste is incredible – this is heaven in a tub. It melts easily, is lovely and chocolatey, and doesn’t taste ‘fake’. Our favourite.Calories per tub: 310 Sweeteners used: erythritol, steviol glycoside Other flavours: Salted Caramel Cake, Cookies & Cream, Coffee Cupcake, Chocolate Orange & Almond

Lowest calorie

Halo Top Vanilla Bean, 473ml, £5, supermarkets nationwide

America’s top ice cream brand was an instant hit here on its launch.
It was great to see its joint-lowest-calorie offering, Vanilla Bean, had a traditional flavour
without tasting too ‘chemically’. It was creamy and had a good texture, melting with the right consistency.Calories per tub: 280 Sweeteners used: erythritol, organic stevia leaf extract Other flavours: 11 others, including Birthday Cake, Peanut Butter Cup, Mint Chip, Sea Salt Caramel, Cinnamon Roll and Cookies & Cream

Best budget

Gianni’s Salted Caramel, 480ml, £1.99, Aldi

Not quite a premium ice cream but for the price this is a decent addition to the low-
calorie, high-protein ice cream market. The vanilla is quite mild and the salted caramel a little sweet but it does the job and our kiddie testers loved it. We found it benefited from being allowed to defrost slightly before using for the best flavour and consistency. Calories per tub: 302Sweeteners used: erythritol, organic stevia Other flavours: Choc Chip Cookie Dough

Best premium

This has more calories than other low-calorie tubs but is much lower than Ben & Jerry’s traditional Cookie Dough’s 1,350 calories per 500ml. Not as low-calorie as others but if you like a luxury brand with half the calories, and no sugar substitutes, this is great. Calories per tub:660 Sweeteners used: no sugar substitutes or sugar alcohols Other flavours:
Salted Caramel Brownie, Caramel Cookie Fix, Chocolate Cookies & Cream

Most creamy

This was deliciously creamy with a lovely tangy raspberry ripple – you could not tell it was low-calorie. Not as sickly sweet as some white chocolate-flavoured ice creams. Nicely dense and melted well. Sucralose can have a laxative effect if you eat too much so it can
be an added incentive not to overindulge! Calories per tub: 350 Sweeteners: Sucralose Other flavours: Espresso Caramel, Mint Choc Chip, Salted Caramel